NEW STUDY FINDINGS VALIDATES THE MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

The findings of a new study, released on August 29, 2007, by Public Agenda entitled “Walking a Mile: A First Step Toward Mutual Understanding,” http://www.publicagenda.org/WalkingaMile/ validates the experience, mission and objectives of Honor Indians Institute. The study finds:

1. Non-Indians know very little about Indians. What they know, or think they know, is based on generalizations and stereotypes.

2. Non-Indians need to be exposed to Indians outside of the stereotypes of casinos and impoverished reservations.

3. Non-Indians and Indians have a mutual desire to increase understanding through education.

I am excited that an “official study” has been released that confirms and validates what I have experienced in my classrooms for the past 13 and ½ years! The Walking a Mile study findings are based on 12 focus groups conducted in 2006 and 2007. From these groups, the study claims that it may be the most “in-depth examinations of the thinking” of non-Indians, and Indians.

The claim of the most “in-depth examination” may be true as for “official” research. However, I have been conducting “unofficial” research on the thinking of non-Indians regarding their knowledge of Indians for the past 13 and ½ years. The first day of class I have students take about 10-15 minutes and write an essay entitled, “What I know about Indians.” For me, this was the baseline measure for assessment. Just a few of the hundreds of comments are linked to this website. Trust me, I could have included hundreds more! The true measure of assessment for me was their final essay entitled, “What I have learned about Indians.” I have posted just a few of the comments from my students about what they have learned in my class.

I also agree with the second finding that non-Indians need to be exposed to the positive things that Indians are doing that do not reinforce the negative stereotypes commonly believed by many non-Indians. I have included a “Honored Indian” feature to highlight the positive accomplishments of Indians. Non-Indians need to see and hear about the positive things that are going on everyday in our society. Hopefully, this website can feature the lives of those Indians that are doing great things in our communities.

And finally, I also agree that most non-Indians have a desire to increase their knowledge of Indians. Most of my students state that they did not get much information from their elementary or high school classes. The Honor Indians Institute’s primary mission is to increase understanding of Indians through education. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to accomplish that mission.